Combined garden markers and seed containers



J. A. WARE April 30, 1957 COMBINED GARDEN MARKERS AND SEED- CONTAINERS Filed April 9, 1954 INVENTOR.

Jofix: 17. Ware COMBINED GARDEN MARKERS AND SEED CONTAINERS John A. Ware, Kansas City, Mo.

Application April 9, 1954, Serial No. 422,149

1 Claim. (Cl. 40--10) This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in so-called garden markers such as are commonly employed for identification of flowers, vegetables, shrubs and other varieties of plants both in green houses and outdoors, and the principal object of the invention is to provide a marker of the character herein described which, apart from its primary purpose of providing plant identification, may also be conveniently employed as a receptacle for storage of seeds.

As will be readily understood, devices of this type, when used outdoors, are subjected to extremely harmful efiects of weather, with the result that in most instances they soon deteriorate and lose their utility long before the associated plant terminates its normal span of life. Various attempts have been made to render such markers more-or-less weather-resisting, such as for example, by enclosing the label portion of the marker in a moisture-proof container. However, although con tainers of this type are usually air-tight, they nevertheless have a volume of air entrapped therein. Consequently, when the marker is subjected to changes in temperature the moisture present in the air in the container causes condensation on the inside surface of the container with the result that visibility through the transparent wall of the container is greatly impaired and the label within the container becomes twisted or otherwise damaged by moisture, in much the same manner as if it had been directly exposed to weather without any container at all.

The instant invention eliminates these various disadvantages by maintaining communication between the interior of the container or receptacle and the atmosphere, whereby the temperature of the air in and out of the receptacle is always the same and any possibility of condensation of moisture within the receptacle is avoided. As will be readily apparent, this feature is not only of importance insofar as preservation of the label in the receptacle is concerned, but also from the standpoint of protecting the seeds such as may be stored in the receptacle, inasmuch as such seeds, if subjected to moisture, would quickly germinate and spoil.

Although as already stated the receptacle of the instant marker is in constant communication with the atmosphere, another feature of this invention resides in arranging the air passages between the interior of the receptacle and the atmosphere in such manner that any moisture such as may be present at the outside of the receptacle cannot gain entry therein.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simple but durable construction, in its pleasing appearance, in its adaptability to accommodate readily interchangeable marker labels, and in its suitability to expedient and economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the innited States Patent ice 2 vention resides in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate like parts and wherein- Figure 1 is an elevational view of the invention,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view there- Figure 3 is a top plan view of the plug used in the invention;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4-4 in Figure 21; V

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, similar to that shown in Figure 2 but illustrating a slightly medi fied form of the invention; p

Figure 6 is atop plan view of the plug used in the embodiment of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a sectional detail, taken substantially in the plane of the line 7-7 in Figure 6.

With reference now to the accompanying drawing in detail, more specifically to Figures 1-4 inclusive, the combined garden marker and seed container is designated generally by the numeral It) and embodies in its construction an elongated inverted receptacle 12 which is formed from any suitable transparent material and is open only at its lower end as shown.

A removable plug 14 is positioned in the lower end of the receptacle 12 so as to constitute a closure therefor, the plug 14 being mounted upon the upper end portion of a downwardly extending stake 16. The upper end portion of this stake is provided with two or more radially projecting keeper elements 18 which are embedded in the body of the plug 14 and thereby assist in rigidly holding the plug and the stake together. The lower end portion 20 of the stake is pointed and adapted for insertion in the ground.

The upper end of the plug 14 is provided with a transversely extending slot or kerf 22 in which is inserted and frictionally held the lower end portion of an elongated tab or label 24. This tab or label, being readily interchangeable, is disposed within the receptacle 12 and has suitable markings thereon to identify the plant with which the invention is used.

As will be observed, the plug 14 has a tapered side wall so as to tightly fit the open lower end of the receptacle, but the side wall of the plug is provided with a plurality of grooves 26 which extend from the lowerv end to the upper end of the plug and function as air passages, maintaining communication at all times between the inside of the receptacle and the atmosphere. In this manner, temperature of air inside and outside of the receptacle is always the same and condensation of moisture in the receptacle is eliminated.

In the slightly modified embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5-7 inclusive, the plug 14a is provided on its lower portion with an enlarged head 28 which abuts the lower end of the receptacle 12 when the plug is in position. This arrangement would interfere with the function of the air passages such as the aforementioned grooves 26, and consequently, in this form of the invention the air passages assume the form of a plurality of bores 30 which extend from the lower end to the upper end of the plug 14a and are located at points spaced laterally from the stake 16.

In any event, it is to be noted that apart from accommodating the label 24, the receptacle 12 may be also used for the storage of seeds as indicated at 32 in Figure 1, the seeds being simply placed in or removed from the receptacle upon removal of the plug 14.

It is believed that the advantages, construction and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof 'at this point is deemed unnecessary. However, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, and therefore, it is not desired to limit the scope of the invention to this disclosure and various other modifications may be resorted to, such as may lie within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is:

A combined garden marker and seed container, comprising an elongated inverted receptacle formed from transparent material and open only at its lower end, a removable plug positioned in the lower end of said receptacle and constituting a closure therefor, said plug having an upwardly tapered side wall provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally extending grooves open at their ends and affording air passages whereby the interior of said receptacle is in communication with the atmosphere, portions of the side wall of said plug between said grooves being in frictional engagement with the lower end of said receptacle, the upper end of said plug being formed with a transverse kerf, an elongated label disposed longitudinally in said receptacle and having its lower end frictionally held in said kerf whereby said plug and said label may be removed unitarily from the receptacle, 2. downwardly extending stake having its upper end portion embedded in said plug and adapted to have its lower end portion inserted in the ground, and a plurality of radially projecting keeper elements struck out from the upper end portion of said stake and embedded in said plug, whereby to prevent the plug and'the stake from becoming separated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,676,927 Richard July 10, 1928 2,127,163 Davis Aug. 16, 1938 2,625,760 Cleal Ian. 20, 1953 

